ReviewFrontiers in nutrition2026
The immune system as a guardian of health: micronutrient support and lifelong protection.
Review in Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The immune system constitutes a physiological network that preserves organismal stability through continuous interactions with tissues and regulatory systems. Immune activity is an integral component of normal tissue physiology, contributing to host defense, structural integrity, metabolic balance, and functional homeostasis. The immune system integrates molecular recognition, effector mechanisms, and inflammation resolution to control infections, limit tissue damage, and reduce the progression of chronic and degenerative diseases. These combined defensive and physiological functions underpin the concept of the immune system as a "guardian of health." Immune competence varies across the life course, following a dynamic trajectory shaped by development, maturation, stabilization, and age-related decline (immunosenescence). Early life, adolescence, pregnancy, menopause, and aging are characterized by increased immune plasticity and shifting functional demands. In later life, immunosenescence and chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) increase immune vulnerability, to the extent that immune resilience determines interindividual variability with aging and subsequent health outcomes. Micronutrients are central determinants of immune resilience, as they support immune cell proliferation and function, redox balance, epithelial barrier integrity, and inflammation control. Vitamins A, C, D, E, and the B-group, together with trace elements such as zinc, selenium, iron, and copper, act within interconnected metabolic and signaling networks that sustain innate and adaptive immune responses. Despite their essential role, subclinical micronutrient insufficiencies remain common, including in high-income countries, and are associated with reduced immunocompetence and increased susceptibility to infection and inflammation. Overall, this evidence highlights that life-course-based immunonutrition could be a strong strategy to preserve health-span and promote long-term physiological resilience.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.